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The government of Niger plans to plant about 13 million tree seedlings this year in a bid to halt the advance of desert, the Panafrican News Agency (PANA) reported the ministry of environment as saying. The seedlings would be used to reforest large plots of lands, secure land dunes and develop shelter belts.
This year’s contribution is more than double the 5.7 million seedlings planted in 2000 on some 4,000 ha of land along a 2,000-km stretch.
The campaign is part of the government’s Domestic Energy Strategy which aims to save the forest by sensitising the population on replanting, the rational use of wood, and proper logging techniques, the agency reported.
Several other West African countries, particularly those located in the Sahel belt, are threatened with desertification. Chad, where more than 80 percent of the population use firewood, has also implemented an anti-desertification strategy.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions